A Small Oak Tree Runs Red
by Lekethia Dalcoe
Directed by Harry Lennix


​​Congo Square Theatre Company
Athenaeum Theatre - Studio 3
June 3rd, 2016 - July 3rd, 2016

Scenic Design: Andrei Onegin
Costume Design: Samantha Jones
Lighting Design: Richard Norwood
Sound Design: Brandon Reed
Props Design: Christopher Neville​
​​Awards & Recognition:
Joseph Jefferson Equity Nomination: Sound Design - Mid-Size
 ​Photos taken courtesy of Marcus Davis

About The Play

Shackled, bound, and trapped within someplace between reality and make believe, lies swollen bellied bloodied Mary Turner, the accused murderer Sidney Johnson, and the loving husband Hayes Turner. All are haunted by the voices of the mob that resides in an abyss that tangles, throws, and switches the elements all in an effort of stopping the memories from coming forward. Their torture continues even in the afterlife. Sidney has reluctantly been given the task to force Mary to remember the horrible accounts  of her lynching so they both can move on. In this world entangled in history and unforgivable acts against humanity, to forget is to forever perish, just like the countless stories before them trapped within old newspapers and forgotten memories.

The Sound Design

Warning: Some selections include racial language from the text that could potentially trigger a listener


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​Prologue

In the opening tableaux we are establishing that this is a ghost story. A chilling piano pulls in while sounds of the abyss begin to fill the space with breezes and faint whispers. Eventually Mary's ghost wonders in, accompanied by humming a gentle tune before we are swept away into the first scene.


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​​The Abyss

Our three characters are trapped in a purgatory-like world where paranormal events interact with them. A motif that was used, the abyss as it was referred to is represented by faint wind breezes with chimes and bells. The abyss itself has rules, where if they are disobeyed it responds and punishes them with anger and fury.


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​Abyss Transitions

As the story progresses, purgatory grants our characters the opportunity to visit their memories and discover what happened to them. We are swept into these memories through different tonal chimes, bells, and breezes of wind sticking to our motif established.


​​​Sidney's Death

As each character discovers the events that led to their demise, the abyss recreates the event for them to relive it. As Sidney remembers the events that led to his death, an angry mob fills the space humiliating him with bigotry and racism till he is finally shot to death.


​​Mary's Death

As Mary remembers her death, we see her interaction with the local police force, where she accuses them of failing to protect her husband. The police warn her to mind her place, till eventually they decide to hang her, while she burns alive.